How Does a Fridge Work?

Mechanical

Refrigeration

Refrigerators use the principles of pressure, boiling and evaporating of a fluid in a circuit in the refrigeration pipework to remove heat and reduce the temperature inside the fridge.

Below you can see how the refrigerant is moved around the circuit to cool the space in the fridge.

Hover over different components to see a description of how they work.

Compressor: Gas at low pressure and low temperature enters the compressor. The gas is compressed to a higher pressure and its temperature rises (just like a bicycle pump which gets warmer pumping up a tyre).This uses electricity.

Condenser: The hot gas is then transferred to a condenser where the heat is removed and the gas begins to condense into a liquid.

Ventilation fins: The heat is released via cooling fins on the back of the fridge unit

Expansion valve: The liquid then goes through an expansion device where its pressure is suddenly lowered, it expands and some of the liquid turns very quickly into a vapour. This change of state has a cooling effect.

Evaporator: The cold liquid absorbs the warmth from the air inside the refrigerator and turns back into a low temperature gas, at low pressure. It now starts its journey again through the compressor.